A Big Upgrade for Amylin Pharmaceuticals

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After Amylin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AMLN) held no better than a three-star ranking for most of the past year, enough top-performing CAPS members have turned bullish on the company recently to upgrade it up to four stars.
A total of 403 members have given their opinion on Amylin
Pharmaceuticals, with many of them offering analysis explaining the
recent optimism.

Amylin and partner Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) are up against competitors like Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) in a market to treat diabetes, a disease that affects nearly 8% of the U.S. population. Amylin has reached several key milestones
with its diabetes and obesity drugs lately that has more CAPS members
feeling bullish. Its recent U.S. approval for its diabetes drug Byetta
as a stand-alone drug could open up its reach to three or four times
the 1 million patients who it has already treated, and investors like its chances for approval of its once-weekly version using technology developed by Alkermes.

Diabetes is highly correlated with obesity, and a deal with Japanese
company Takeda Pharmaceutical to develop Amylin's obesity compounds
could give Amylin a huge boost in the obesity treatment market. Amylin
pocketed $75 million up front, with the possibility for $1 billion or
more for hitting certain milestones. CAPS members like the huge potential market
for obesity drugs, as the World Health Organization estimates a
continuing rise in the number of obese adults. Prescription drugs
account for less than 1% of the massive weight-loss products market.
Roche and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) have top-selling obesity drugs, while others like Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA) and VIVUS (Nasdaq: VVUS) are working on their own.  

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